Hiller has not played since straining a muscle in the lower-body region on Feb. 8, according to the newspaper. He took shots in practice for fourth consecutive days and served as Fasth's backup in Saturday's 3-2 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators.

Viktor Fasth has won the first eight games of his NHL career. (AP Photo)

The Ducks play host to the Columbus Blue Jackets before having off until Saturday.

Coach Bruce Boudreau says that Hiller will be back between the pipes soon.

"He'll start sooner than later, I think," Boudreau told the Orange County Register. "He'll get in next week for sure. I think that is important to build him backup.

Fasth's emergence in one reason the Ducks are off to an 11-2-1 start. Fasth, 30, has no prior NHL experience but is 8-0 start. He has one shutout, a 1.78 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

With Saturday's win, Fasth became the third goaltender to win the first eight decisions of his NHL career. Ray Emery holds the league record, winning his first nine decisions with the Ottawa Senators from March 2003 to November 2005. Bob Froese also won his first eight NHL decisions with the Philadelphia Flyers in January 1983.

Fasth's emergence is also critical in that in the shortened season, having two goalies capable of carrying the load in a blessing. The Ducks have five sets of back-to-back games left on the schedule, but the ability to rotate goalies in the compressed schedule is invaluable.